Portion
control? It’s not the first thing I think to mention when I speak
about a restaurant. At Cafe One 24 it’s on the menu. Well, not
explicitly expressed, but implied in executive chef Sarah Dusseau’s
philosophical musings about her restaurant. She comes from a fitness
background. Her other business, Fit Food Trainer, focuses on exercise
and portion control and offers healthful foods to go. Encouraged by
kudos from friends and customers, Dusseau opened Cafe One 24 in
January. As our server explained, the food is "clean" as in
locally produced, unprocessed and unrefined. Or as he says, "Our
food is as close to the earth as possible." That means grass-fed
beef, local greens, craft beer, products from Wisconsin farmers, no
refined flour, no preservatives or additives, honey and molasses in
place of sugar, and — ouch ­— no butter.

I tested out
that butterless thing by ordering the Grilled Gruyere with prosciutto
and honey on sprouted grain raisin bread. It worked. The chef used
olive oil to pan sear the bread, then put the sandwich in the oven to
melt the cheese. It might be my all-time favorite toasted cheese
sandwich. It came with a side salad, and for an additional $4, a bowl
of soup du jour, tomato-basil-white bean topped with two crostini.
Both were delicious. The salad had tiny bits of blue cheese that
defined the mixed greens, and the thick soup had perfectly balanced
tomato-basil flavors.

My companion
sampled Chicken Roulade, organic chicken, stuffed with spinach, goat
cheese and prosciutto over sweet potato mash and grilled asparagus.
Compared to what we’re accustomed to finding on the plate it was a
relatively small portion, however, it proved an ample serving, and
again, delicious.

Dusseau kept the
menu brief. The four salad choices sounded so unique I wanted to
sample each one, especially the Seared Flank Steak Salad with
Gorgonzola and toasted cumin dressing. That steak on the Mains menu
comes with white bean puree, braised rainbow chard and sautéed wild
mushrooms.

Dusseau wrote on
the menu, "Thank you to our local business partners." I say,
thank you for this "clean-eating" restaurant.